Bowl Bid Falls Shy of the Mark

By Sarah Williams

The news sent jubilation and celebration throughout the university: Rice was on its way to the New Orleans Bowl, its first bowl game in 45 years. And to add to the excitement, the Owls, with a 7–5 season record, were favored to win over the Troy Trojans, appearing in only their second bowl, also following an 7–5 season.

At the end of the day, however, the Owls found themselves outmatched, as the Trojans dominated Rice to the tune of 41–17. Rice fans’ disappointment at the loss was diminished, however, by the Owls’ outstanding effort during the season and a bright outlook for next year.

It was clear by the end of the first quarter that the game would be a tough one for Rice. Troy—which had racked up only 23 first-quarter points all season—already had taken the lead 21–7, scoring on four of its first five possessions.

The Owls tendency to give up the big play and not mount a consistent defense—mistakes they had avoided for most of the stellar second half of their season—doomed them from the kickoff. “We did everything outside of the way we normally play,” said former Rice head coach Todd Graham. “You play defense like we did, and you’re not going to have a chance to win the game.”

On the game’s first possession, Trojan Mykeal Terry’s 40-yard reception put Troy on the Owls’ 1-yard line. Three plays later, Troy took the lead 7–0. After Rice quarterback Joel Armstrong’s first pass was intercepted, Troy was back on the Rice 1-yard line, and it was quickly 14–0. Armstrong followed shortly after with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Mike Falco that cut the lead to 14–7, but the first quarter scoring wasn’t over yet. Troy quarterback Omar Haugabook put more points on the board with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Terry.

In the second quarter, Rice kicker Clark Fangmeier made it 21–10 with a 43-yard field goal, but after the Owls botched an onside kick, Troy took advantage of its good field position with another score to put the Trojans ahead 28–10 at the half.

Graham summed up the Owls first-half play pretty concisely. “We were really disorganized in the first quarter and a half defensively,” he said. “They made some big plays on us. We gave up the big play, and that really hurt us.”

A 25-yard field goal in the third quarter increased Troy’s lead to 31–10, and another in the fourth brought the score to 34–10. Armstrong connected on a touchdown pass to Rice receiver Jarett Dillard that closed the gap to 34–17 with just under five minutes to play, but another Troy touchdown put the game out of the Owls’ reach.

The Owls were unprepared for Haugabook, whose effective mix of running and passing plays earned him the game’s MVP and showed why he was named the Sun Belt Conference player of the year. “We had a lot of confusion out there,” Graham said. “We did a very poor job defensively of preparing our kids.” Another problem was undoubtedly the Owl’s failure to take care of the ball. Rice committed five turnovers in the loss, a season high.

Part of Rice’s struggles stemmed from the absence of several key Owls. Sophomore Ja’Corey Shepherd, Rice’s best defensive back, did not travel to New Orleans due to a violation of team rules, and tight end Chance Talbert, whose specialty is blocking the run, also was suspended for the game. In addition, the Owls were missing injured starting quarterback Chase Clement. Armstrong, filling in for Clement, struggled under pressure from the Trojan defense, throwing five interceptions and getting sacked four times. He completed 35 of 54 passes for 306 yards and one touchdown.

Armstrong, who was clearly unhappy with his effort, said after the game he felt he’d let his teammates down. “As a quarterback, the main thing you have to do is take care of the ball, and I did a horrible job of that,” he said. But Graham was quick to defend Armstrong’s play. “Joel’s done a tremendous job for us,” he said. “No blame goes toward Joel. He got out there and competed and did the best he could. We are proud of him.”

A bright spot for the Owls was Dillard, who continued his touchdown streak. His 1-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter brought the number of consecutive games in which Dillard has scored to 15, dating back to the 2005 season. His 13-game touchdown streak in 2006 set an NCAA record. Dillard finished the game with nine catches for 71 yards and one touchdown. After the game, however, Dillard said he’d rather have gotten a win. “I really don’t look at individual statistics,” he said. “The record, that’s nice, but all I worry about is the Rice Owls getting the win.”

Despite a disappointing appearance in the New Orleans Bowl, the 2006 season was a special one for Rice—one that will be an important building block for future years. After taking over the program in January 2006, Graham oversaw a renaissance for the football program, including impressive renovations to Rice Stadium, an increase in fundraising, and an improvement in the win–loss record from 1–10 in 2005 to 7–6 this year.

Most importantly, Graham loved what he saw in the hearts of the players. “We lost the game,” Graham said. “But these kids are victors in life. No one knows the hard work these kids put in to take a team that was as down as the Rice program and to resurrect it in a single season. They locked arm in arm, and to me, they triumphed unlike any team I’ve ever coached. I wanted them to have the opportunity to finish this thing as bowl champions, and we just didn’t get it done. But is doesn’t take away from what we’ve accomplished and what it’s going to mean to this program in years to come.”